The museum is seeking volunteers to help clean and prepare for preservation fossils of pachyrhinosaurus, a large horned dinosaur which existed in the Late Cretaceous period roughly 70 million years ago. The fossils were collected from the Pipestone Creek bonebed field site.

“People can volunteer in our fossil preparation lab, and they can do some of this work themselves under supervision of museum staff,” said Derek Larson, the museum’s assistant curator of vertebrate
paleontology. “They work hands-on with the fossils and it’s a really great experience for people who want to learn about paleontology or just contribute to a museum, or some people find it very relaxing.”

Since January 2017 when the program launched, approximately 130 fossils have been prepared by volunteers.